That breakfast was one of the tensest affairs Shuu ever had to sit down to. Kaiden's lap felt uncomfortable…mainly because Kaiden continued to shift Shuu around and press his fork to Shuu's mouth.
"Here, try this. You are too skinny and need more meat on your bones. Ah, maybe try this as well."
The hero picked up something else, and Shuu obediently opened his mouth to eat.
He did think about rebelling for a second, but that thought quickly left his mind as soon as his eyes met the saintess. The less attention he drew to himself, the better.
"Prince Kaiden, there is a time and place for such…display. Don't you agree, Shuu?"
The saintess asked, and Shuu wanted to complain that this was not his fault. But before he could do that, the crown prince pushed something else into his mouth. Fingers brushed against his lips, and when Kaiden pulled his fingers back, he made sure to lick them at the same place.
If Shuu had not been red-faced before, now he sure as hell was. He could not even lift his face to look at Kaiden.
Seeing this, the saintess got even angrier, and Shuu could feel it stabbing him in the back every second he spent in her presence.
She did not say anything until the food was finished, and then she tried to grab the hero's attention once more.
"I think we should get the important matters out of the way now. From our information, we have found that the beasts have started to wake up, and the damage this time is rather high. The demon king of the current time must be about to wake up, and the journey to bring him down is about to start as well. Are you ready for it…Prince Kaiden, please pay attention."
The saintess slammed her hands on the table as she watched the crown prince wrap his arms around Shuu before burying his face in the shorter man's neck.
"I am hearing you speak, but that does not mean I have to respond. You are not saying anything special that I have not heard before."
The hero sounded almost annoyed with the saintess, and she noticed. She was annoyed with herself, but she knew that she needed to be in the hero's grace so that she could have a bright future…and a chance to marry him.
"I understand. But as the one put in charge of your journey, I still need to make sure. You will be accompanied by your head guard, and me. Us three-"
"Four. I will take Shuu with me as my personal companion."
"-fine, four will leave the day after tomorrow. I will ask people to prepare everything we will need and also send official messages to all other temples. I will also provide a room for your companion in the temple so he can…rest…"
The saintess was forcing these words out as she looked at the display in front of her.
Shuu already knew he was not liked by her because he did not have the goddess's gift, but wasn't this being too much?
'Then again, the saintess does like the prince, so maybe that is adding up and making her dislike me even more.'
For now, the best thing to do would be to take a step back and not agitate her more.
"Alright, I get it. If this was all you wanted to discuss, then I will head back to my room now."
Kaiden stood up, and Shuu was finally allowed back on his feet. He let out a sigh of relief and started to walk away.
But he had not gone too far when the saintess spoke up once more.
"Wait-! There is one last thing I wanted to tell you. You should be more careful with how you act and what kind of message you want to send to the world. Otherwise, you can cause people close to you to be in danger."
The saintess looked at Shuu when she said that, and he had a feeling she was trying to warn him rather than the hero to be alert.
Shuu felt goosebumps go down his spine as he took a step back…only to walk back into Kaiden's chest.
"Don't worry, saintess. I am much more capable of protecting my people than you think, so you don't have to worry about anything. Now, I should take my leave now. Shuu must be tired after all the…exercise…we did last night."
Kaiden's hands massaged the mark on Shuu's neck lightly, and it caused his legs to buckle. His legs lost their strength, and he almost fell on his knees before he caught himself against that body beside him.
The saintess clenched her teeth as she watched this before she shook her head one last time.
"Alright, I will respect your decision."
The saintess told them, but her eyes did not have the same acceptance as her words did.
Shuu shivered at her proximity before his eyes were covered by Kaiden's hand and he was pulled along.
"Let's get going now, Shuu. We have a lot to do. First, we should do some shopping and get you something…more comfortable."
Kaiden spoke as he pushed up the shirt Shuu was wearing. Only once he did that did Shuu realize that the mark Kaiden had left on him was clearly visible to everyone.
'No wonder everyone has been looking at me with a weird look. Oh god-! Did everyone see this mark? I don't think I can raise my head ever again…No, think positively. At least they did not see the one on my lower stomach…'
"I do not like it. Too many people were staring at you even after they saw my mark on you. Maybe I should have shown them the one on your stomach instead. That would have driven in the point that you are mine. Hmm, what do you think? Should we go back and do that…"
Shuu suddenly picked up his pace, and he all but ran back to his room. He could not take it anymore.
He had a feeling that the hero would actually go along with what he was saying at the moment. And that thought was…far too embarrassing for Shuu to even consider.